College sex-assault response faulted

More training recommended for SDSU, three other schools

San Diego State University and three other public universities in California failed to adequately train faculty and staff to respond to reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence and didn’t follow state law in distributing policies on how to handle such incidents, the state auditor has found.

The report comes at a time when state and federal officials including President Barack Obama have expressed concern about the manner in which campus sexual assaults are handled and victims are treated. An oft-cited National Institute of Justice report from 2007 found that one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college.

The audit, released Tuesday, urges universities to do more to educate students on the issue, particularly for incoming students in the first few weeks of school.

State Auditor Elaine Howle called for the four reviewed schools — SDSU, UC Berkeley, University of California Los Angeles and California State University Chico — to do a better job of letting victims know reporting options and what to expect from the university.

She also urged the colleges to better evaluate data on incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence to identify trends that could improve outreach and protection efforts.

She said the universities were not training employees who likely would be the first point of contact for students on how to respond to and report the incidents.

“Further, when they are not sufficiently trained employees may not know how to interact appropriately with students in these situations and may do something that would discourage students from engaging in the reporting process,” Howle wrote.

From 2010 to 2012, SDSU reported 31 sexual assaults, including one that occurred off-campus and one that occurred at its Imperial Valley campus, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Postsecondary Education.

In August, auditors began looking at how the four universities handle such allegations after Berkeley students alleged that administrators hadn’t taken their claims seriously and that campus offices failed to properly report their claims.

Berkeley is among 55 colleges and universities facing a U.S. Department of Education investigation over their handling of sexual abuse complaints.

The state report highlights one case at SDSU when a faculty adviser failed to report an incident of sexual harassment of a student to the appropriate person — and a year later the accused individual sexually harassed the same student again.

After the repeat occurrence, the student and the student’s parent visited the faculty advisor and submitted a formal complaint.

“The information was then forwarded to the appropriate university official, who proceeded with a full investigation of the incidents,” the report said. “However, had the complain been initially forwarded to the Title IX coordinator, the matter could have been resolved earlier and the complainant may not have been subjected to the additional harassment.

“By not ensuring that all university employees are adequately and routinely trained in how to report incidents of sexual harassment and sexual violence, and by not providing practical information on how to identify incidents, universities risk having their employees mishandle student reports of sexual harassment and sexual violence.”

More than 200 students were surveyed for the audit about their campus experiences between 2009 and 2014. Out of that small sample, 35 percent said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed.

The auditor recommended that universities do a better job telling students what they should expect from the complaint process and provide notification of status updates and the ultimate resolution of the complaints.

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she had been waiting for the auditor’s report. A hearing on sexual assault on college campuses will be held Monday by the Assembly Higher Education and Joint Legislative Audit committees.

“Victims must be treated with the dignity and consideration they deserve. No excuses,” Atkins said in a statement. “I am committed to working with the UC Regents and the CSU Trustees so cases of sexual harassment and violence on college campuses are reviewed and resolved thoroughly and fairly and so students, faculty members, and staff know about the resources available to them.”

SDSU students are provided many opportunities to undergo training on sexual harassment and are told of resources that are available on campus, said Jacqueline Karczewski, SDSU’s associated students vice president of external affairs. She will be serving on a new sexual violence task force the campus recently created that will look to improving programs and ensuring student orientations cover the topic adequately.

“I think the university does a great job,” she said. “It has a lot of programs that are ongoing throughout the year.”

The report notes that SDSU offers three programs targeting sorority and fraternity members: bystander intervention, Fraternity Men Against Negative Environments and Rape Situations, and Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol — that offer tips on how to prevent sexual assaults and how to encourage students to report incidents. But the auditor said SDSU falls short in protecting students because it does not mandate annual training.

SDSU issued a statement that said it is committed to training and educating students, faculty and staff about sexual assault and sexual harassment on its campus.

“There is always room for improvement. The audit provides continued opportunities for this, and we will be following those recommendations,” SDSU said in a statement.

SDSU concurred with all the auditor’s recommendations except the call to impose consequences, such as registration holds, to ensure that all incoming students receive education on sexual harassment and sexual violence. SDSU said it will need to determine if it has the legal authority to impose a hold or other consequences.